Anomalies, Portals, and Liasons Oh My!
by Sare K
Summary: When Danny Quinn reappeared through the anomaly, he didn't end up back in London. Now it's the job of the Portal Research Facility to send him home. I realize the title sucks, if you can think of a better one feel free to suggest it.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First off, I'm an American (one addicted to the BBC, but an American just the same). So if I get the accents wrong in any way I ask that the lovely British readers forgive any mistakes and feel free to correct me. Also, it goes without saying that I don't own Primeval (though I just said it).

_MEMORANDUM – FEBRUARY 12, 2010_

_DUE TO RECENT EVENTS THE CONSUMPTION OF CHOCOLATE BARS INSIDE OF THE PORTALS IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. USING RATIONS TO ENTICE YOUNG CREATURES FOR STUDY IS ALSO STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. _

_REGARDS,_

_MANAGEMENT_

Fiona Marcus chuckled to herself as she wadded up the memo and chucked it in the trash next to her desk. What would the clowns calling themselves new management think of next, she wondered. She didn't have time to muse any further for the portal alarm went off. She grabbed her pack and ran down to the garage, getting into the first available SUV.

"What do we got, Parker?" she asked the young man at the wheel.

"Portal opened in Central Park," replied David Parker. Fiona tucked her short, dark red hair into a ponytail and sighed.

"Where?"

"Strawberry Fields."

"Damn," she said. "Anything coming out?" Parker shook his head.

"Nothing to be concerned about," he replied. "Couple of birds, maybe an ancient squirrel."

"Still not good," said Fiona. "NYPD holding back the tourists?"

"Yeah," said Parker. "They're saying it's a stunt set up by one of Lennon's crazy fans."

"Great," Fiona said. "Better they think that then the alternative."

"How's Nathan?" Parker asked. Fiona shrugged.

"Last I heard he was awake and asking for his Xbox." Parker laughed.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. When they reached the park they were met by a bunch of burly ex-Marines, all carrying guns. They looked to her for their orders.

"Remember," she said. "Keep the public out of the way. Davis, Parker and I will pop our heads in for a sec and see what we're dealing with. Once we get our bearings, snap a couple of pics, then we'll get out. Got that? Great. Let's go."

Fiona and Parker walked ahead toward the portal, ignoring the looks of the public being held back by the police.

"These people may be trouble," Parker whispered. Fiona shook her head.

"It's Central Park. Most of them are tourists. They probably assume this kind of shit happens in New York all the time." Parker laughed.

"True." They continued along until they reached Strawberry Fields. There was the portal, right over the "Imagine" plaque.

"Great, the tourists probably took pictures," Fiona said. The soldier walking up to her shook his head.

"Nope," he said. "Cops confiscated all cameras, phones, iPods, you name it."

"They did?" Fiona asked. "Fan-fucking-tastic. I take it this was on your order Davis?" The soldier nodded. "Thanks Jarhead." The soldier scowled.

"Thought I told you to quit calling me that," Davis said. Fiona laughed.

"Only a thousand or more times since I was eighteen. One would think after seven years you'd take a hint." Davis ignored her and directed his next question at Parker.

"Think we should go in, doc?" Parker nodded.

"Just let me get my pack together and-"

Parker's next word was cut off by the shouts and yelling from the crowd as a figure ran straight through the portal. Immediately all of the surrounding soldiers pointed their guns at it. Fiona looked as the figure raised its hands and in a hoarse voice said: "Don't shoot! For god's sake, don't shoot!"

"Stop!" Fiona said. "Guys, put the guns down. I mean it!" Not all of them complied. "Davis!"

"Marines, lower your weapons. NOW!" That got them.

Fiona stepped closer to the figure. She could tell now that it was a man. A modern man from the looks of it. His red plaid shirt was torn in places and there were holes in his boots. His hair was too dirty to tell what color it was, and his beard was too long to tell how old he was. He was very thin. He stepped closer, causing the soldiers to flinch a bit.

"Chill out guys," Fiona said. She held out her water bottle which the man accepted, taking a long pull. "Feel better?" she asked. He nodded.

"Much." He handed the bottle back to her. "When am I? _Where_ am I?" he asked with what appeared to be a British accent.

"You're in 2011 and you're in New York," replied Fiona. "Now it's my turn to ask questions. For starters, who are you and what the hell are you doing here?" The man glanced at the people around him, then back at Fiona.

"Name's Danny Quinn."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own Primeval or any of the associated characters, etc. etc. etc.

* * *

Fiona sat with Danny Quinn on a bench close to the portal. He'd been given a once over by one of the Marines, who used to be a medic, and another one by Parker. Apart from being a bit malnourished and underweight there appeared to be nothing wrong with him. Although he'd answered their questions relating to his health and general well-being he had yet to say anything more about who he was. She could tell from his accent that he was from England, probably London. He kept looking at the cops keeping back the tourists and at the soldiers guarding the portal.

"You gonna close it?" he asked. She looked confused.

"Close the portal?" Danny nodded. "We can't," she said. "We just have to sit on it until it closes on its own."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why?" Danny chuckled.

"I have a friend who could help you."

"Would this friend have anything to do with why you came through the portal?" Fiona asked.

"The what?" said Danny.

"The portal?" Fiona said. "The big shiny thing over there that you came through looking like Grizzly Adams? I mean I'm assuming you don't usually look like that."

"Oh, the anomaly," Danny said. "Yeah, you could say my friend knows a bit about anomalies."

"Why do you call them 'anomalies'?" Fiona asked.

"Because that's what Cutter called them," he replied.

"Cutter?" Fiona said. "You mean more people know about these things?"

"Yeah," Danny said. "You could say that. But what about you people? You should know all about 'em by now." Fiona shrugged.

"My dad knew more about them than anything else," she said. "Me, I just lead the guys in and tell them what to do. Damage control, keep the people out of danger, that sort of thing."

"I know a thing or two about that as well," he said. Fiona sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"You know the sooner you drop the mysterious guy who appeared through the 'anomaly' act I can help you get to where you need to go," she said.

"You'll send me back to London?" he asked.

"Sure thing," Fiona replied. "I mean, technically you're not even supposed to be here." Danny laughed.

"Story of my life."

"Hey Fiona!" Parker called. "Portal's closed. We're heading back."

Parker grabbed the equipment while Davis regrouped his men. Fiona led Danny to the SUV where Parker was stowing the equipment.

"What are we going to do with him?" Parker asked, gesturing toward Danny. Fiona shrugged.

"Figure we'll take him back to headquarters and go from there," she said. "I mean we've got to get him back to his own people, whoever they are."

"We'll have to tell Hanover about him," Parker said.

"Who's Hanover?" asked Danny.

"Our boss," Parker replied. "Our government official who tells us what not to do-"

"And then we disregard his orders anyway," interrupted Fiona. "Come on, let's get out of here."

After a silent drive spoiled only by Danny's remarks about American traffic they made it back to the facility. They were met by a tall man in his fifties with sandy blonde hair and an unpleasant expression.

"Fiona," he said stiffly.

"Hanover," replied Fiona.

"Who's the stranger?" Hanover asked. Danny stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Danny Quinn," he said. Hanover shook his hand, turned on his heel, and beckoned for Fiona and Danny to follow. Parker stayed behind and began unloading equipment.

"I thought we weren't to bring tourists back from the portal sites," Hanover said.

"He's not a tourist," Fiona said. "He came through the portal."

"You're joking," said Hanover.

"'Fraid not," said Danny. "Been stuck on the other side for quite a while. Fiona said she might be able to get me home." Hanover looked at Fiona who looked at the ground.

"Did she now?" Hanover asked. Fiona nodded. "Well of course we can get you back in touch with your loved ones. I'm assuming you'll be wanting a shower and some fresh clothes, yes?"

"That would be fantastic," Danny said. Hanover smiled, an expression that looked out of place on his stern face.

"Excellent," Hanover said. He beckoned a nondescript young woman holding a clipboard. "Perkins, please take Mr.-"

"Quinn," Fiona said.

"Mr. Quinn to the locker room and find him some clothes." The woman nodded and held out her arm to Danny.

"I'll come find you later, alright?" said Fiona. Danny nodded and followed Perkins through a door and out of sight. Immediately Hanover turned to Fiona.

"Who is he?" he asked. Fiona shrugged.

"I have no idea," she said. "He just came through the portal. Seems to know a lot about them actually. Calls them 'anomalies'."

"Anomalies?" Hanover said. Fiona nodded.

"He kept saying he needs to get back to 'his people', whoever they are." At that moment Fiona's cell phone rang. "Talk to me Parker."

"I just ran a check on Danny Quinn," Parker said through the phone. "There's a record of an ex-policeman of the same age and description by that name who vanished from London sometime in 2009. Funny thing is after he left the police force there's no record of where his income was coming from."

"Government spook perhaps?" Fiona asked.

"Maybe. I'll keep digging."

"Thanks Parker," Fiona said, hanging up and turning to Hanover. "Parker said Danny's an ex-cop from London who vanished a year ago. There's a possibility he had a covert government job."

"Possible spook who knows about the portals," Hanover mused. "You think the Brits have an organization like ours?"

"Well we won't know until I ask Danny," Fiona said. "Either way, I think we should keep this away from management. There's no telling what they'll do with him."

"I agree," Hanover said. "I think we've figured out by now that the less management knows, the better."

* * *

A/N: Please read and review. Yes, I realize that Primeval also has a Parker, but I have plans for that later on.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: American Parker is in no way related to Jess Parker. The name choice was actually accidental, but it will be used as an inside joke later.

* * *

Danny Quinn was having an interesting day. First he'd been led to a locker room where he'd taken a glorious shower, then had been whisked off for a medical examination. Best he could tell he'd lost about two stone, was a bit sunburned, but was otherwise unharmed. Finally he was told that he was to be questioned by one of the heads of the organization. On his way he passed laboratories, offices, even what looked like a small armory. Perkins finally stopped in front of an office door and gestured for him to enter. Fiona sat behind what must have been a desk at one time, but had turned into a giant pile of clutter. She gestured to one of the chairs in front of it.

"Have a seat," she said. "Everything check out?"

"I'll live," Danny said, reclining in the chair. "Is this the interrogation portion of the afternoon?" Fiona smiled.

"I'm not here to interrogate you," she said. "I just want to know a bit about where you came from and how you got here."

"So you're one of the 'heads of the organization', eh?" Danny asked. Fiona nodded. "Bit young to be in charge, I'd say." At that she rolled her eyes.

"I'm twenty-five," she said. "And technically Hanover's in charge. I'm just the team leader."

"How'd you get a position like that?" he asked. Fiona laughed.

"Don't use your ex-copper Jedi mind tricks," she said, smiling. "I'm the one asking the questions. Starting with: you are the ex-Detective Constable Daniel Quinn who went missing in 2009, yes?" Danny nodded. "And after you left the police force you went to work for the British government, am I right?" Danny shrugged.

"Not exactly," he said. He ran his hands through his overlong hair and watched her watching him. She didn't seem to be writing anything down.

"But the place where you worked had something to do with these 'anomalies' as you called them?"

"A bit," he replied. "Are you writing this down?"

"No," Fiona said. "I'm keeping this as informal as possible. You seemed pretty familiar with our procedures when you came through. Am I right in guessing that you once worked for a facility kind of like ours?" Danny grinned. She'd figured it out.

"A bit like yours," he said. "Even down to the pencil-pusher running the show."

"You mean Hanover?" Fiona said. Danny nodded.

"Except our man is called 'Lester'," he said. "And he's got a bit more of a sense of humor."

"What's the place called?" Fiona asked. Danny looked as though he was about to tell her, but stayed silent. "Oh come on Danny, I can't get in touch with them if I don't know where you worked." Danny sighed.

"It's called the Anomaly Research Centre, A.R.C. for short." Immediately Fiona turned to her computer and began typing furiously. "What are you doing?" Danny asked.

"Ringing my friend Gemma," Fiona said. "She works in the Home Office. If this facility still exists, she can get me to it. What was your boss's name again?"

"James Lester," Danny replied. At that moment a video screen popped up on Fiona's monitor. A very sleepy looking blonde girl appeared. Her mascara was smudged as if she'd been sleeping and she looked as though she needed about ten cups of coffee.

"'ello?" said the girl. She looked at Fiona properly and rolled her eyes. "Shit Fi, it's six o'clock in the evening."

"Pull another late night, Gemma?" Fiona asked. Gemma nodded.

"Work's been murder today and my boss says I have to stay until 9," she said. "I was at the pub until last call last night and then I was at Patrick's until 4. What's going on?"

"I need you to get me in touch with man who may or may not still work for the Home Office," Fiona said. "Can you do that?" Gemma shrugged.

"I guess," she said. "What's his name?"

"James Lester," Fiona said. "And he worked for something called the A.R.C." Gemma's eyes widened and she coughed for a second.

"Uh, never 'eard of it," she said. Fiona rolled her eyes.

"Bullshit," she said. "Look, it's important that I talk to this Lester guy. Can you please get a hold of him for me?" Gemma sighed.

"Look, I'm really not supposed to do this-"

"So don't get caught." Gemma pushed her tangled hair out of her face.

"Christ, you owe me for this," she said. "I can't get you in touch with Lester, but I can get you through to a friend of mine who can find him."

"You sure this friend is reliable?" Fiona asked.

"Definitely," Gemma said. "Here, let me patch you through to her." A few seconds later another woman showed up on the monitor and Gemma disconnected

"Hello?" said the strange woman, who looked far more awake than Gemma. "Who are you?"

"Hi," Fiona said. "I'm Fiona Marcus, one of Gemma's friends in the States. I was told you could help me find James Lester."

"Why do you want Lester?" said the woman, her eyes looking worried from under her fringe.

"I have important information regarding the A.R.C.," Fiona said. "I need to deliver it to him."

"Whatever it is you can tell me," said the strange woman. Fiona looked at Danny who shook his head and scribbled on a slip of paper. It read, "Ask for Captain Becker."

"Is there a Captain Becker there?" Fiona asked. "I've been authorized to give the information to him."

"Who are you?" said the strange woman, now looking very nervous.

"No one for you to worry about," Fiona said. "Please let me talk to Captain Becker." At that moment a man's voice called out from the woman's end.

"Jess? Is everything all right?" Danny waved at Fiona and mouthed "Becker."

"Becker, there's someone here who's demanding to talk to you," Jess said.

"Who is she?" asked Becker.

"No idea," Jess said. "Says her name is Fiona and she's calling from a secured facility in New York."

"Let me talk to her." Another face replaced Jess's on the monitor. This man was older, darker, and had a military air to him.

"Captain Becker I presume?" said Fiona. Becker nodded.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Becker asked.

"My name is Fiona Marcus and I work for the Portal Research Facility in New York," she replied. "It's been brought to my attention that you work for a similar organization in London known as the Anomaly Research Centre, am I right?" Becker looked at her warily.

"Perhaps," he said. "What's this about?"

"We had an incident in Central Park today," Fiona replied. "Some of my men found some items related to your organization near the portal site."

"Such as?" Becker asked. If Fiona's words were affecting him in any way, he didn't show it.

"A black backpack and a wallet chain." Becker's eyes widened slightly. Danny was enjoying every second of this. He shoved another piece of paper at Fiona.

"Did you find anything else?" Becker asked. Fiona smiled.

"We did indeed," she said. "Do you know a man who goes by the name 'Danny Quinn'?" Becker's face showed no change in expression but a loud squeal could be heard behind him, presumably from Jess. Danny stepped around Fiona's desk and looked his colleague in the face for the first time in nearly two years.

"Miss me soldier boy?" he said. At that Becker grinned. Fiona stood up and allowed Danny to have a better look at Becker.

"I told you never to call me that again," Becker said. Danny laughed.

"I think you can forgive me seeing as I saved humanity and made it out alive."

"Saved humanity?" Fiona asked.

"I'll explain later," Danny replied. "Can you really get me back to London?" Fiona nodded.

"Don't see why not," she said. "Our respective bosses will probably have to arrange something, but we should be able to arrange something in the next couple of days." Jess's face popped back onscreen.

"Lester and I can probably work something out through Prospero," she said. "They have private jets and such that we have limited access to." At Danny's confused look she continued, "The A.R.C. is privately owned now…sort of."

"I'll explain everything when you get here," Becker said. Danny nodded, then remembered something.

"Where's Sarah?" he said. "I'd like to say hello if I may." Becker and Jess exchanged a look. Danny's face fell as he understood. "How did she die?"

"Predator attack," Becker said shortly. "A lot happened after you three went through."

"Did Connor and Abby make it back safely?" Danny asked. Becker nodded.

"They're in the field with Matt, the new team leader," he said. "I'm grounded for a bit. Got hurt pretty bad last week." At that moment a noise sounded on the London side.

"We've got to go," Jess said. "But I'll put Lester in touch and we'll get you home Danny, I promise."

"Thanks for that," Danny said. "By the way, we haven't been properly introduced. Danny Quinn."

"Jess Parker," she replied. "Damn, we have to go. We'll be in touch." With that her face disappeared from the screen. Danny sank into Fiona's chair as Fiona herself leaned against the desk watching him.

"Sorry about your friend," she said. "I've lost a few myself doing this job." Danny nodded.

"I'm just happy Connor and Abby made it back," he said. "They were stuck like me."

"You'll be able to see them soon," Fiona said. "Once Hanover and Lester confer there should be no problem getting you home." Danny leaned back in the chair and sighed.

"Home."

* * *

A/N: I'm glad all of you are happy with the idea of other countries having their own versions of the A.R.C. While the American version seems to have some similarities, it will prove to be very different.

Next chapter: Danny returns to London and bureaucracy bites Fiona in the ass.


End file.
